Cat food for cats, breastmilk for babies

I just came across this article in the Times; claiming that the NHS is ‘overselling’ the benefits of breastfeeding and suggesting there is little evidence to support claims that it protects babies against allergies, obesity, certain cancers etc.

I get really mad when I read things like this because it just adds to a body of totally contradictory and confusing advice for mums trying to decide on the best way to feed their babies.  Having breastfed Bubs for a year, there is no doubt in my mind that the ‘breast is best’ cliche holds water – for me you only had to look at my baby to know that he was nourished, healthy and content.  No allergies, no tummy upsets, no ear infections; bright eyes, clear skin, alert.

But that doesn’t mean I think of breastmilk as some sort of ’superfood’.  Quite the opposite in fact. In my mind, breastmilk is to babies as gazelle are to lions – it’s the food they are supposed to eat, the food they are physically designed to consume.  Babies are born with a rooting instinct – left to their own devices they can even crawl to the breast and latch on with little assistance.  They have flat, upturned noses designed to let them breathe whilst at the breast.  They have small stomachs designed to take in small amounts of food, which is digested rapidly and easily with little waste – this is evidenced by the fact that they can go for days without producing a bowel movement.  And then of course there’s the small matter of the fact that after she gives birth, a woman’s body automatically begins to produce milk – this is not some sort of back-up plan in case there’s no formula to hand!

I’m not a cow, mum!

Breastmilk is not a magic bullet, it’s the NORM.  If you got a pet cat, you wouldn’t feed it dog food, would you?  So why would you feed your human baby a ‘breastmilk substitute’ (although there’s no such thing)  derived from milk intended for baby cows, unless you had absolutely no other choice?  We don’t question that mother’s milk is the best food for the young of other mammals so why do humans feel they need evidence that breastfeeding is really necessary and beneficial?

And I’m under no illusion about how hard it is to breastfeed – the discomfort, the sleepless nights, the lack of freedom; I know how tempting that tub of formula can be at 3am when you’ve not slept or had time for a shower in days.  But I defy anyone trying to tell me my baby would have been just as well off on formula and I just made myself a martyr to breastfeeding to get attention, or sympathy, or something.

Not that I believe there is anything wrong with formula, per se. If breastfeeding goes wrong, it is a perfect safety net and no mum should feel guilty about using it if the need arises.  Formula fed babies grow up healthy and beautiful and clever, just like breastfed ones. But in my opinion it always comes second to breastmilk.

Don’t pull the wool

Any woman in full possession of the facts about breastfeeding who still decides it’s not for her should, in my opinion, be supported just as fully as a breastfeeding mother.  Happy, healthy babies are the number one goal, no matter how we feed them.  But trying to convince a woman that a food made by her own body, specifically for her child is ‘no better’ than a synthetic one designed for another species entirely is, quite frankly, an insult to her intelligence.

It’s a sad truth that much of this research into breast milk vs. formula is funded by formula companies, and as a result much of what is written about breastfeeding serves only to polarise the debate further, making either breast or formula feeding mums feel like they are under attack.  Wishful thinking, I know, but wouldn’t it be nice if some of this money could be put into resources to help more mums succeed at breastfeeding?  More experienced midwives and lactation consultants, better ante-natal preparations and an improved public attitude to breastfeeding mums would go a long way to increasing a new mum’s confidence in her ability to breastfeed her baby.

I know I was lucky.  Although breastfeeding was far from easy, we managed to get the hang of it and I enjoyed the most challenging and rewarding year of my life so far watching Bubs grow and develop thanks to the nourishment my body was providing for him.  He lost 13oz after he was born and two weeks later when he was weighed and found to have gained it all back again, I was the proudest woman on earth.  I wish every mum could know how good that felt – it’s impossible to ‘oversell’.